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This week I spoke to Andrew Dunn, the founder of Siempo about building tech to fight digital addiction, how the world will change because of equity crowdfunding, and the race to the bottom of the brain stem. Andrew Murray Dunn is an Oakland-based entrepreneur and community builder who envisions a world in which technology protects and promotes human thriving. Prior to leading Siempo, Andrew was an early employee at Flexport ($3B+) and studied operations at UPenn Wharton (‘12).

I had the pleasure of sitting down at the home of Brandon Kleinman, founder of Laurel & Wolf and Vesta Home, about how he got his entrepreneurial start, how his 20s and 30s have differed, and why every little bit of experience along the way ends up mattering. Brandon got his professional start in the epicenter of story, Disney. There, Brandon was one of the first to recognize and utilize social media throughout Disney's parks and resort business. Following that, he created stories for some of the best brands in the world as the digital strategy head of TBWA\Chiat\Day, where he earned Cannes Golden Lion, FWA Site of the month, and a host of other awards.

I interviewed Shaina Conners, COO of Global Sisterhood, about scaling a community, trusting her instincts, and moving cities. This is one of my favorite conversations in a long time. In talking to Shaina, it just really feels like she *gets it*. I'm not sure exactly what I mean by that, but I have a feeling you'll understand once you listen to this episode...

I set down with Amelia Baker and Mackenzie Munro, founders of Blonde Mamba. Frustrated with the quality and focus of content that was being made for teen and twenty-something audiences, Blonde Mamba was formed by a group of Gen Z creatives and digital influencers to develop and produce projects for mainstream networks and platforms, emerging digital content services, and brand partners. Between LA, London and Toronto, their team has developed content for platforms such as Snapchat Discover and Facebook Watch, as well as delivering internationally award winning short films.

This week I spoked to actor and influencer Veronika Dash about moving beyond the typecast, learning through mistakes, and the importance of timing. Veronika graduated, Magna Cum Laude, from the ‘School Of Dramatic Arts’ at the prestigious University of Southern California with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theatre. Upon graduation, she has become bicoastal, traveling between New York City and Los Angeles to work on upcoming pilots, films, and theater projects.  In her latest work, Dash can be seen alongside Jane Fonda and Harvey Keitel in the feature film "Youth," or La Giovinezza, directed by Oscar-Winner Paolo Sorrentino.

I sat down with filmmaker and thinker Michael Morgenstern to talk about his fascination with truth, the Internet, and how reality is becoming more and more warped each day. I found our discussion to be both terrifying and fascinating, but hearing how creative Michael gets in his pursuit of art is nothing short of inspiring to me. Check out his website here: http://everythingisfilm.com/ And follow him on Twitter too: https://twitter.com/mikemorgenstern

This week I spoke to Jenna Hage-Hassan of 4Thought Studios, an app development company based out of Detroit. Her and her team are working to change the narrative about digital technology and how it can benefit our lives, and are launching their first app to try and help Detroiters find more places around the city to explore. We had a lovely conversation about all that she’s up to, and she explained how she’s taken the unorthodox path to tech through two geology degrees, one in Lebanon(!).

I had the wonderful pleasure of spending 36 hours with Matt last week, and brought along the microphones in case our conversation veered into documentable territory. We talk about his recovery and the ebbs and flows of feeling hopeful and hopeless, and about how the timeline for recovery is completely dependent on the individual, and how he finds that freeing. I am blown away by the wisdom and the thoughtfulness that he effortlessly displays. I love this conversation and this man very much.

Ahmed Baba never fails to put the news in context of the larger picture, and today was no exception. We unpack the Roger Stone indictment, the latest in the government shutdown saga, and then go through a rapid fire overview of the #TrumpRussia collusion/conspiracy. Strange times.

One thing I love about interviewing people across such a wide spectrum is humans is that I get to learn about worlds that I would otherwise never explore. Today is no different. Cody Wheat is a Brand Ambassador for Sazerac, so basically his job is to be an evangelist for bourbon, and he also hosts the Shots of History podcast, in which he does these amazing deep-dives into the history of different spirits. So basically the dude knows booze, and as a minimal drinker myself, I'm a total novice. After this hour, I'm considerably more educated! I hope you enjoy.

Missy Modell is a creative in the most 2019 way possible. She writes songs for Netflix movies, advises brands who want to make an impact, and hosts her own digital TV show discussing taboo topics with other badass women. We sat down on her couch for an afternoon and talked about all these things, and more, while her two adopted Maltese pooches slept on her lap.

Ben Brown reached out to me over a year ago after hearing about the podcast and noticing the chance for collaboration. We chatted, and our shared vision for a future where young people had more of a role in policymaking was inspiring. A few months ago, we started our official collaboration, and it has been an honor to become a partner of the Association of Young Americans. It’s crazy that this organization didn’t exist before Ben started it, but now that it’s here, we’re already seeing results. We dive deep in this interview into how AYA started, the benefits of membership, and what their lobbyists are doing in Washington advocating for education reform.

This is a little bit of a different episode. Ben Lee interviewed me for his podcast, Rootstrap Radio, and I had so much fun with it that we decided to run it on the MDS feed as well. We dug down deep into the world of podcasting, our crazy political landscape, and life as a 20-something Angeleno. Check out his podcast and give it a subscribe if you enjoy. As I discuss further on the pod, my family home burned down last week. So, I apologize for the lack of posting/communicating from our various channels the past 10 days or so. These are trying times, but we are thankful for the chance to rebuild and move forward.

I interviewed Max Carver a few weeks ago and had my first ever technical difficulty. The interview got erased, and I called him apologetically asking for more of his time. So you’re hearing round two, which I thoroughly enjoyed. We talk politics, sobriety, how social media is slowly killing our society, and how acting has become just one tool in his arsenal of expression. We take a lot of twists and turns in this one. Enjoy. Have you voted yet!?!?? ELECTION DAY IS TODAY! GOOOOOOOOOOOOOO VOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOTE!!!!!

I had the pleasure of interviewing Radha Agrawal last year over the interwebs about the incredible community she's built with Daybreaker. Fast forward to now, she's now written Belong: Find Your People, Create Community, and Live a More Connected Life, and is on a book tour and happened to be in Los Angeles. I had her over for an afternoon on the couch, and we talked about the loneliness epidemic that is infecting everything from politics to romance. She made me cry multiple times, because it hit me like a ton of bricks just how lonely so many of us are. The work Radha is doing is so necessary, and I am continually blown away by how much of a badass she is.

I spoke to Britt Basel about her work helping sustain and preserve indigenous communities around the world, the work she's done in Mexico bringing clean water to remote communities, and the time she's spent with National Geographic leading photography expeditions.

I visited the Koio founders Chris and Johannes at their new Abbot Kinney store and learned about how why they started a shoe company and what's made it successful. We had to be out in the wild for this one, and even got kicked off a lawn at one point!

This week I talked to performance coach Fabrice Gautier about working with NBA players, how generations of high-performing athletes differ, and why mental health is just as important as physical health.

This week I spoke to Taylor Sharp, who directed an amazing new documentary called Hoops Africa, a collection of stories celebrating the growth of basketball on the African continent. We talked about our shared love of the continent, how he came to be a filmmaker (hint, not planned), and I enviously nerded out about all the NBA greats he got to meet while shooting this film.

Leah V. is a plus-size hijabi model, body-positive activist, and freelance writer. While attending her master’s program, she started to blog because she had gone through several eating disorders and was tired of sucking her stomach in while in public. She began being more candid about her struggles as a fat, Black Muslim growing up in Detroit and has been featured in HuffPost, Elle Magazine, and Buzzfeed. Just to name a few. When I had the chance to speak with her last week, we talked about her personal hero’s journey and why she was inspired to zig as an influencer when everyone else zagged. Within five minutes of talking to her, you can immediately tell that Leah is a special human being, someone who’s story is worth hearing. Check Leah out on on Instagram @Lvernon2000 Snapchat: LeahVDaily Facebook: Beauty and the Muse  Youtube: Leah Vernon Tumblr: Lvernon20